Japanese Softbank buying ARM Holdings for £24 billion

UK technology firm ARM Holdings is to be bought by Japan’s Softbank for £24bn ($32bn) today. Shares in the firm surged by 45% at the open of the London Stock Exchange to 1,742.85p per share, adding £7.56bn to ARM’s market value.

The Cambridge headquartered firm, which has other sites in Loughborough, Sheffield, Blackburn, Manchester and Maidenhead, designs microchips which are used in billions of devices, including Apple’s and Samsung’s.

Founded in 1990, ARM employs nearly 4,000 people. The electronics firm said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge (where around half of its employees are based) and that it would at least double the number of its staff over the next five years.

Softbank is one of the world’s biggest technology companies and is run by its founder, Japanese entrepreneur Masayoshi Son. Financing for the deal is from Softbank’s own cash reserves and a long term loan from Japan’s Mizuho Bank.

Softbank is one of the world’s biggest technology companies and is run by its founder, Japanese entrepreneur Masayoshi Son. It has previously acquired Vodafone’s Japanese business, the US telecoms company Sprint and France’s Aldebaran robotics business and has gone on to give it a global profile.

Describing the deal as “one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made”, SoftBank chairman and chief executive Masayoshi Son said: “We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market-leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the “Internet of Things”.

“This investment also marks our strong commitment to the UK and the competitive advantage provided by the deep pool of science and technology talent in Cambridge.”

Stuart Chambers, chairman of ARM, described the takeover offer as “compelling” and reassured investors that the group will remain “a very significant UK business” and will continue to play a key role in the development of new technology.

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